Is Cannabis Odor Sufficient Cause For A Legal Vehicle Search? Illinois Supreme Court Will Decide

The Illinois Supreme Court is deciding on whether the smell of marijuana alone provides enough grounds for police to search a vehicle. On Wednesday the court heard arguments from two cases of individuals whose cars were searched based on the police saying they detected the smell of weed, reported Capitol News Illinois.

In the case, People v. Redmond, defendant Ryan Redmond was pulled over for driving three miles over the speed limit. Once stopped, police officers searched his car saying they smelled cannabis. They then found one gram of marijuana and charged Redmond with a misdemeanor for failure to transport marijuana in an odor-proof case.

The other case involves Vincent Molina who was a passenger in a car the police searched due to marijuana odor and found a small box of joints. Molina told the police he had a medical marijuana card, but was charged with unlawful possession and for not storing his cannabis in an odor-proof container.

Attorneys for Molina and Redmond argued in court that the smell of marijuana alone should not be probable cause for a vehicle search since the substance is no longer illegal in Illinois.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office asserted that the law requires drivers to transport marijuana in odor-proof containers, therefore the smell is grounds for a search, even if the passenger is a medical marijuana patient.

Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis said the most important matter in both cases is roadway safety. 

"The concern here is the safety of the public driving down the highway and impaired drivers," Theis said in oral arguments. "We’re concerned about drunk drivers, and we’re concerned about high drivers."

Various chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed a brief in support of Molina and Redmond, arguing that allowing the smell of cannabis as a cause for a vehicle search could lead to biased enforcement against Blacks and Latinos. 

The Supreme Court ruling is expected later this year. 

See Also: Woman Who Sued Neighbor Over Marijuana Odor Wins As Judge Rules Pot Smell Creates A Private Nuisance

Marijuana And Odor Laws Across States 

This is not the first state in the U.S. to deal with the question of whether marijuana odor is grounds for a legal search of a vehicle. 

In January, Missouri Rep. Ian Mackey (D), proposed an initiative that would prohibit police from using the smell of marijuana as the sole basis for a warrantless vehicle or property search.

In November, Maryland Republicans started advocating to reverse HB 1071, a law that prohibits police from searching individuals or vehicles based solely on the odor of cannabis.

In June, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that when a vehicle smells like cannabis, it is reason enough for police to legally search the passengers in it. 

The same month, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously that police officers violated the Fourth Amendment when they used the smell of cannabis to search a man's car on the New Jersey Turnpike in 2016. 

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